In a broad sense, a conflict of interest is the conflict between the private interests of a public official and the public interest. National legislation addresses conflicts of interest in various areas of public relations and provides regulations within the framework of sectoral laws that regulate the types of public service, as well as other legal acts. Nevertheless, issues related to the ethics of individuals holding public office and public service positions are primarily regulated by the 'Public Service Law,' which defines a conflict of interest as a situation where the private interests of an official affect or could affect the impartial and objective performance of their official duties. In turn, the private interest of a public official is understood as any benefit to the official or to persons closely connected with them, as well as to individuals or organizations with whom they or their close associates have business, political, or other professional or personal relationships.

Legal mechanisms for managing conflicts of interest are in a continuous and periodic process of improvement. Nevertheless, existing legal regulations already provide the opportunity to manage these situations through procedures of avoiding, disclosing, and resolving them. The 'Public Service Law,' as a preventive measure, primarily suggests that officials refrain from taking action (or inaction) or making decisions in situations of conflict of interest, including participating in the preparatory work for decision-making. At the same time, specific regulations are in place for individuals with superior or direct managers and for those without such managers or holding political positions. The main logic of the regulations, in the first case, assumes the obligation of the subordinate to inform their superior about the conflict of interest, who then proposes specific steps to resolve the situation. Meanwhile, for individuals without a superior or direct manager and for those holding political positions, the law allows them to seek consultation from the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Failure to comply with conflict of interest regulations leads to legal liability as prescribed by law, either disciplinary or administrative. The failure of individuals without a superior or direct manager, or those holding political positions, to submit a declaration to the Anti-Corruption Commission regarding situations of conflict of interest is grounds for holding them administratively accountable. Decisions of the Commission can be reviewed in the 'Decisions' section of the website.

The institution of restrictions on the acceptance of gifts is a key component of the ethics system, which, like other elements, aims to prevent potential conflicts of interest and influence on official duties. Restrictions on the acceptance of gifts are outlined in the 'Public Service Law,' which regulates the relationships related to the acceptance, registration, and transfer of permissible gifts and establishes a ban on receiving gifts related to the performance of official duties that are not permitted. The Anti-Corruption Commission, in turn, is authorized to monitor the enforcement of gift acceptance restrictions and to coordinate the process of gift registration.

Specific requirements are set for individuals holding public office and public servants to ensure the effective and impartial exercise of their official powers, free from potential conflicts of interest. From the perspective of the 'Public Service Law,' public officials and public servants cannot hold positions in other state or local self-government bodies that are not linked to their official status, nor can they hold positions in commercial organizations, engage in entrepreneurial activity, or perform paid work, except for scientific, educational, and creative work. This law also clarifies the concepts of entrepreneurial activity, scientific, educational, and creative work. Violating these requirements carries a more severe consequence—termination of official duties or dismissal from the position held.

"Public officials and public servants, after being appointed (or elected), are required, within one month, to cease their activities in a commercial organization. In the case of shareholding, they must transfer it to trust management in accordance with the procedures set by law, while ensuring the exclusion of influence over the trust management process and the manager."

Corruption risk assessment is a tool through which public and private sector bodies and organizations identify, analyze, and evaluate the gaps and opportunities that may lead to corrupt actions or behavior. This process includes conducting an analysis of the areas of the body or organization's activities where corruption risks may be high (such as public procurement, financial transactions, issuing permits, human resource management, etc.), as well as defining appropriate policies, actions, and measures that can reduce the identified risks.

Corruption risk assessment provides a number of important outcomes that contribute to ensuring the effectiveness and transparency of the work of bodies and organizations. First and foremost, it aims to prevent corruption, as it allows for the early prevention of corrupt behavior by reducing the likelihood of such behavior occurring. Corruption risk assessment also contributes to the improvement of the governance system, the efficient use of public resources, the strengthening of ethics, transparency and accountability, the increase of public trust, the improvement of the business environment, and so on.

As a result of the corruption risk assessment, the body or organization develops an anti-corruption action plan, which aims to reduce risks through the implementation of preventive measures. As a rule, these measures may focus on ensuring the transparency of processes, collegiality and documentation in decision-making, the effectiveness of control mechanisms, the implementation of anti-corruption educational and awareness programs, the introduction of digital technologies, the development of internal legal acts, the clarification of regulations containing wide discretionary powers, and so on.

No, the corruption risk assessment system is not yet in place in Armenia. However, the Action Plan of the Anti-Corruption Strategy of Armenia for 2023-2026 includes the implementation of a corruption risk assessment system in state and local self-government bodies (Action 1.9) as well as in state and community-owned companies (Action 4.3), through the implementation of relevant legislative changes.

Based on the 2023-2026 Anti-Corruption Strategy Action Plan of the Republic of Armenia, in 2024, the Corruption Prevention Commission developed and submitted to the Ministry of Justice a draft law on "Amendments to the Law on the Corruption Prevention Commission." This draft law proposes granting the Commission the authority to ensure the uniformity of corruption risk assessment and management in public authorities, state and community non-commercial organizations, state-founded foundations, and commercial organizations with 50% or more participation by the Republic of Armenia and communities. Additionally, the Commission will have the function of presenting recommendations to the competent bodies. Furthermore, with the adoption of this draft law, the Commission will also be responsible for developing and approving the methodology for corruption risk assessment, as well as providing professional consultations and methodological support. At this stage, based on the draft methodology, the Commission is conducting pilot corruption risk assessments to refine the project and align it with Armenia’s specific characteristics.

If you do not have the password to access the Electronic Declaration System but remember your username, you can follow this link, enter your username, then click on the “Forgot Password” link. After that, enter the email address registered in the System. You will receive an email at the specified address, which will allow you to set a new password for accessing the System. If you have forgotten both your username and password, you need to fill in the required information in the form available at this link to obtain a new username and password. It is important to note that to avoid receiving multiple passwords, there is no need to contact the Commission through other communication channels after submitting the form.

If you have access to the system, you can use both technical and content guides from the "Guides" section of the system. After reviewing the guides, if you have any other questions, you can contact the consultant of the relevant body overseeing the declaration process, where the declarant holds a position. The consultant will forward the question to the Commission in a centralized manner. After performing these actions, if you have further questions regarding the declaration process, you can reach the Commission at the following phone numbers: 012-77-77-16, 012-77-77-19, and 012-77-77-21. In case it is impossible to make contact, you can send written questions to the email address contact@cpcarmenia.am or use the "Help" section in the system to reach out.

Yes, the husband has the obligation to submit a declaration regardless of whether you live together. The legal provision of living together for 183 days or more applies to other adult persons living together.

If a declarant who has ceased their official duties submits a declaration of termination and is appointed (elected) to a position that requires a declaration of duties before December 31 of the same year, they do not need to submit a declaration of assuming official duties. However, if the declarant is appointed (elected) to a position requiring a declaration of duties within 30 days after their powers have ended (terminated), they do not need to submit a declaration of termination and assumption of official duties. This provision does not apply if the declarant has never submitted a declaration of assuming official duties. In that case, the declarant must submit a declaration of assuming official duties.

Before submitting the declaration, the declarant must add adult family members who live together in the "Family Members" section as follows: To add a new family member: 1. In the "Family Composition" tab, click on the icon that says “+ Add or Create.” 2. In the search field of the opened window, type the name or part of it. All matching results will be displayed. 3. Hover over the name that needs to be added to the declarant’s family and click the “+ Add” icon. 4. In the opened window, fill in the following fields: • Type of family member (Spouse, cohabiting adult, etc.) • Start (date of beginning cohabitation) • End (date of end of cohabitation) • Employer’s name • Position (work activity) 5. Click the "Add" button. Creating a family member: If the family member being searched for is not present in the system, a new one must be created. To create a family member, follow these steps: 1. In the opened window, click on the “+ Create New” icon. 2. In the Personal Data window that opens, fill in the required information about the family member. 3. Save the data and close the window. Editing family member details: To edit the details of a family member, follow these steps: 1. In the Family Composition section, hover over the entry that needs to be edited. 2. Click on the edit button. 3. In the opened window, make the necessary changes.